Australia posted a record first-innings total courtesy of hundreds by opener Usman Khawaja and debutant Josh Inglis before Sri Lanka’s top-order crumbled late on day two of the first Test in Galle.
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The tourists declared at 6-654, the nation’s highest Test score in Asia, before Sri Lanka limped towards 3-44 at stumps, with Dinesh Chandimal (9*) and Kamindu Mendis (13*) unbeaten overnight.
Khawaja notched his maiden Test double-hundred, a career-best 232, before Inglis became the first Australian to score a century on Test debut in nearly a decade, dismissd for 102 off 94 balls.
The first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia will resume on Friday at 3.30pm AEDT.
Early catch of the year contender! | 00:42
‘NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER’: INGLIS SHINES AFTER THREE-YEAR WAIT
Josh Inglis’ Test debut was three years in the making.
The West Australian wicketkeeper received his maiden Test call-up in 2022, carrying drinks as Alex Carey’s understudy during tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He forced his way into Australia’s white-ball sides the following year, but a coveted baggy green continued to elude him.
Inglis looked destined to serve as Australia’s perennial reserve gloveman for the remainder of Carey’s Test career. It became apparent that, barring injury, his only path to a Test debut was as a specialist batter.
After cracking 363 runs at 72.60 during this summer’s Sheffield Shield, the right-hander was named in Australia’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign against India, but national selectors ultimately preferred Nathan McSweeney for the series opener in Perth.
However, Inglis is renowned as one of the country’s best players of spin, so when a vacancy appeared in the middle order for the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy opener in Galle, he finally got his chance.
Fellow West Australian Geoff Marsh presented Inglis with Test cap No. 470, but he faced a nervous wait in the sheds before his maiden knock, with opener Usman Khawaja and captain Steve Smith combining for a 266-run stand for the third wicket.
But once he finally got out to the middle and brushed off the pad rash, the 29-year-old only needed one delivery to prove he belonged at Test level.
Inglis breaks 10-year drought with ton | 00:40
After slapping his first ball towards the mid-wicket boundary, Inglis looked in complete control on the slow surface, prancing around the crease as he accessed all corners of the venue. His footwork was faultless, skipping down the pitch and hitting lofted strokes down the ground, while his sweeping proved an effective weapon against Sri Lanka’s tweakers.
Rarely has a Test debutant looked so comfortable in the middle.
“This is superb batting – it’s a breeze for him,” former Australian spinner Bryce McGain said on SEN.
“As good a start as anyone at Galle.”
Commentator Adam Collins continued: “There was no doubt whatsoever that this bloke was ready for Test Cricket – and he’s shown it from ball one.”
With his parents watching on, Inglis raced towards a maiden Test hundred in just 90 deliveries, becoming the first Australian debutant to achieve the feat since Adam Voges in 2015 — and it only felt appropriate that Carey was at the other end when he passed the milestone.
Having patiently waited in the wings for three years, Inglis didn’t waste his opportunity when the moment finally arrived.
Leaving out teenager prodigy Sam Konstas for the Galle Test raised some eyebrows – but Travis Head’s rapid fifty and Inglis’ magical debut has vindicated the decision.
“We’re seeing exactly why he was picked in these conditions,” former Australian batter Greg Blewett said on Channel 7.
“The Australians are very confident that Josh Inglis is the man going forward to play really well in Asia.”
Head magic saves Aussies from bad luck | 01:06
‘BUMRAH’D’ UZZIE CEMENTS ASHES SPOT
Following the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign, during which Usman Khawaja contributed 184 runs at 20.44, the Australian opener declared he wasn’t out of form.
He had simply been “Bumrah’d”.
Indian weapon Jasprit Bumrah terrorised Australia’s top-order throughout the five-Test series, with Khawaja dismissed six times at an average of 5.50. The left-hander looked completely out of his depth against the talented seamer, prompting speculation about his future in the Test side.
Ahead of the New Year’s contest in Sydney, former Australian captain Michael Clarke suggested that Khawaja should hang up the boots and farewell Test cricket in front of friends and family at the SCG.
However, Khawaja has silenced his critics in emphatic fashion in Galle, notching a maiden Test double-century to cement his spot in Australia’s XI for next summer’s Ashes campaign.
The Queenslander, who turned 38 last month, proved that age was just a number by soaking up 352 deliveries at the crease, thwarting Sri Lanka’s spinners on the slow surface. Only one other Australian has scored a Test double-hundred after their 38th birthday – Sir Donald Bradman.
Uzzie smashes maiden Test double-century | 00:43
“It’s been a tough summer – I had a lot of people telling me how I should go about my career and what I should do from here on in,” Khawaja told reporters at stumps on day one.
“I’m not here for anyone but the team. I’m not just playing cricket because I’ve got a gluttony to score lots of runs. Century No. 16, 17, 18 is not going to make a difference to my life. I’m going to finish this game, and I’ve got a beautiful family. I’ll try to give back to the community as much as I can. Hopefully I can score runs and contribute to the team.”
Once a sitting duck in the subcontinent, Khawaja has developed into Australia’s most consistent performer in Asia. Since the start of 2018, he has accumulated 1427 runs at 83.94 in the subcontinent.
It’s why last year, despite his patchy form in the Test arena, Australian coach Andrew McDonald told Khawaja: “I don’t care what happens, just make sure you’re on the Sri Lankan tour. I want you on the Sri Lankan tour.”
McDonald may be tempted to ask Khawaja if he’d be willing to continue playing through to the 2027 tour of India.
FROM SURGERY TO TEST WICKET-TAKER IN A FORTNIGHT
It’s a miracle that Matthew Kuhnemann is even playing this Test match.
Earlier this month, during a Big Bash League match at the Gabba, the Brisbane Heat spinner sustained a thumb injury after Hobart Hurricanes wicketkeeper Matthew Wade slapped a delivery back in his direction.
The injury was gruesome. Thumbs aren’t supposed to bend that way.
Kuhnemann sprinted off the field in immense pain, grimacing as he attempted to hide his thumb from the cameras by tucking it into his shirt. During that moment, the 28-year-old must have wondered whether his Sri Lanka tour was over before it had even started.
However, after undergoing surgery the following day, Kuhnemann returned to training a week later and flew across to the subcontinent to meet the Test squad in Galle, having missed the pre-series camp in Dubai.
He could bat, bowl and field pain-free, while the injury was on his non-bowling hand. Despite the risk of reaggravating the wounded thumb, Kuhnemann was given the green light for the series opener against Sri Lanka.
Left-armed spinners are a proven weapon in the subcontinent — just look at what Ravindra Jadeja’s achieved in Asia over the past decade — so the national selectors were willing to gamble on Kuhnemann for the unique skillset he provided.
And he only needed six deliveries to reward the selectors’ faith.
Donning a protective covering on his thumb, Kuhnemann trapped Sri Lankan opener Oshada Fernando on the knee roll with a delivery that pitched on leg stump and spun sharply. The dismissal sparked a late collapse of 3-23, putting Australia in a commanding position at stumps on day two.
Kuhnemann may never play a Test match in Australia, but for future tours of the subcontinent, he’ll be one of the first names on the team sheet.
PACE BOWLER DISAPPEARS IN NEW-BALL SNUB
Not much went right for Sri Lanka across the opening two days in Galle — but considering the dropped catches, missed run outs and botched reviews, they only have themselves to blame.
Captain Dhananjaya de Silva’s strategies also came under scrutiny. The second new ball was only seven balls old when day two got underway, but to everybody’s surprise, Sri Lankan seamer Asitha Fernando wasn’t required in the morning session.
The pitch was slow and low, hardly offering any assistance for fast bowlers, but with a fresh ball at his disposal, Fernando could have inflicted some damage.
The right-armer’s opening spell on day one was expensive, but he did generate plenty of swing — he should have accounted for the dismissal of Australian opener Travis Head for 23, but Sri Lanka neglected to review an LBW decision that would have been overturned.
Fernando produced only 15 overs across the first innings, while spinner Prabath Jayasuriya chucked down 60 overs, the most deliveries he’s bowled in a Test innings.
Rather than relying on the fatigued spinners, Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva may regret not giving his strike quick a burst with the second new ball while it still had some shine.
Meanwhile, only four bowlers were used across Sri Lanka’s innings, with pundits questioning why de Silva didn’t call upon his part-timers in search of a breakthrough.
When three opponent batters are compiling hundreds — with one of them converting to a double — there’s no harm in experimenting with your match-ups.
De Silva himself has 40 Test wickets, while veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews boasts 33. Both were capable of unearthing a breakthrough.
Sri Lanka’s reliance on their three strike spinners was even more baffling considering Australia’s recent success against slow bowlers — since the start of 2022, no Test nation has averaged higher against spin.
Meanwhile, Nishan Peiris finished with 0-189 from 41 overs, the worst bowling figures by a Sri Lankan in Test history. A tough day in the office.
Highest batting average against spin since 2022
40.72 – Australia
38.56 – Sri Lanka
37.69 – South Africa
36.32 – Pakistan
33.47 – India
AUSTRALIA’S FRESH WTC FINAL DILEMMA
It’s a good problem to have, but Australia now has eight batters fighting over six spots for the upcoming World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s — and the solution is anything but obvious.
Usman Khawaja and Sam Konstas are the leading candidates to open the batting, although the teenage prodigy will enter the marquee fixture with one Test fifty under his belt.
Marnus Labuschagne has been Australia’s No. 3 for nearly six years, but the Queenslander is under mounting pressure to keep his spot in the national side after a lean 24 months in the Test arena — especially with Kurtis Patterson breathing down his neck.
The middle order will feature Steve Smith and Travis Head — the heroes from Australia’s previous WTC Final appearance — but the identity of Australia’s No. 6 is less apparent.
Following an exceptional start to his Test career, all-rounder Beau Webster is the incumbent for the role, but Cameron Green is expected to be available as a specialist batter.
Meanwhile, Josh Inglis’ impressive Test debut has thrown a spanner in the works. The West Australian was picked for the Sri Lanka tour in a horses-for-courses selection, but it would be difficult to justify dropping him for WTC final if he tons up again next week.
